In a special interview with GB News, Kevin Saunders, who used to be the boss of the Border Force, shared some insights about how European countries are dealing with people coming to their countries illegally. He also discussed whether Rishi Sunak’s plan to “stop the boats” is working.
Saunders said that Belgium is doing a good job when it comes to handling illegal immigration. He mentioned that the UK gives Belgium £10 million each year, and they are doing well in keeping out illegal migrants. Saunders explained that this success in Belgium is because they have a government that doesn’t like illegal immigration.
But in France, things are a bit different. Saunders pointed out that in the border areas of France, there is a government that doesn’t like illegal immigration. However, in the rest of France, there’s a different government with different ideas about this issue. So, it’s a bit of a fight over what to do.
When asked if we should stop giving money to France because they might not do as good a job, Saunders said that might not be a good idea. He thought that if we stop helping France, more people might try to come to the UK by boat because France has a long coastline to watch.
One big problem, according to Saunders, is that European countries don’t want to take back people who came illegally. This has been a problem even when the UK was in the European Union (EU). Now that the UK is not in the EU, it’s even harder to talk about sending people back.
Saunders had an idea, though. He suggested maybe we could send people who came here illegally to North Africa instead. He mentioned that the EU already gives money to countries like Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria to stop people from coming to Europe. He said we could use that money to ask these countries to take back people who came to the UK illegally.
The situation is complicated, and finding a solution to the immigration problem is tough for leaders on both sides of the Channel.
